Author's Note: Shout out to anyone who reviewed/favorited/followed this story! OVER 1000 FAVORITES AND FOLLOWS GUYS! Thanks so much!
Anyway, this next arc of the story isn't going to focus on romance at all, but it is crucial for the development of the plot. Have a feeling I'm gonna be getting a lot of hate for this chapter…I've never actually gotten a flame in my life, but that might just change with the upcoming chapters XD. Again, remember that 10 reviewers will get an extra scene so please comment!
Fanfic Rec: Uninvited Guests by Mozco—possibly one of the funniest Bleach fics I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Starring our favorite kid captain, Hitsugaya Toushiro, with plenty of humor, breaking the 4th wall, insanity and Yachiru.
I woke up to the sight of a canopy of leaves. Flecks of blue sky peaked through the layer of green, and I sat up to find myself in a forest that seemed strangely familiar, despite the fact that I didn't recall ever visiting. Apart from the sound of leaves rustling, the place seemed almost eerily silent. No birds, no insects…aside from the plants surrounding me, I was the only living being present. Standing up, I began walking along the narrow dirt path in front of me, staring at the myriad of flora growing along the sides in wonder. Trees of every kind, only some of which were familiar, flowers of every shape and color…it had all the variety of a rainforest without the tropical feel.
After walking for a period of time—it was impossible to tell exactly how long, a minute, an hour, a day—the dense cover of leaves finally began to thin as more and more light shone through. Finally, I found myself at the shores of a small lake, maybe an eighth mile in diameter. At the center of the lake was a tiny island upon which grew the largest willow tree I'd ever seen. At twenty five meters in height, it towered over everything else and its branches shaded much of the island from view.
The lake itself was a beautiful blue-green color that shimmered in the light. The water lapped at my feet; cool and refreshing. Leading from where I was standing to the island were a series of large stepping stones, worn smooth from the water. Shrugging, I made my way over to the island, pausing every so often to admire the lilies that grew in the water. Just before I reached the shore, a noise coming from above caused me to look up.
The sight of glowing gold eyes partially hidden amidst willow leaves made me gasp and instinctively step back, almost losing my balance.
"So you have finally come, Hisana. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever make it here." The voice was soft, melodious, yet somehow muffled, as if coming from far away. The being shifted and although the willow branches prevented me from getting a good look at it, I still got the impression of…wings?
"Who are you?" I whispered, peering closer to get a better glimpse of the creature hidden in the upper branches of the willow tree. The being shifted again and through the leaves, I saw the flash of one magnificent wing, feathers of brilliant metallic green tipped with luminescent blue.
"My name is-" The being spoke, and then I woke up.
I rubbed my eyes blearily, still shaking off my lingering sleepiness. Lately, I'd been having the same dream over and over. It was always the same forest, although this was the first time I'd gotten so close to the island. Honestly, I had no idea what it meant, especially that last bit at the end. Hearing voices probably wasn't a good sign but…well, it's not like dreams were supposed to make sense. Just because this was a recurring dream and a bit more realistic than my normal ones didn't mean it was significant in any way.
"Finally woke up from your nap, sleepyhead?" Kazuki teased as I walked down the stairs.
"Unlike you, some of us actually require sleep," I scowled. Glancing outside the window, I frowned when I noticed it was already getting dark. "Is Rukia back yet?"
"Nah, she went out to find the pineapple," Kazuki said casually, biting into an apple. I tensed, and went to grab my coat. "I'm going out to find her."
"Relax, Hisana," Kazuki rolled his eyes. "It's barely six. Plus, everyone from the 76th district onwards knows not to mess with any of the brats."
"Better safe than sorry," I answered, already halfway out the door.
Normally I wouldn't have any problem with Rukia staying out late as long as she came back by nine. With Byakuya's lessons, she was more than capable of defending herself against most attacks. But for the past two weeks, well…children had been disappearing. I didn't have any confirmed proof, but Renji had mentioned how a few kids he hung out with seemed to have vanished. They were always orphans, children with no families…people who wouldn't be missed. Children who had no one to look for them, no one to care.
If it was only a few disappearances, it wouldn't disturb me so much. Sad as it was, people died all the time here and children were often the first to go. I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it if the missing children didn't all have one thing in common—they all had above average spiritual energy. Nowhere on the level of Rukia or Renji, but more around Miwa's level before she started training with me. Still, it was an unsettling trend.
I found Rukia a couple blocks down. She felt me coming, eyes widening at my darkened expression.
"Uh…nee-chan, I can explain," she said weakly. I grabbed her by one ear and she winced.
"What were you thinking?" I hissed. "You know the rule, I want you back by six."
"I know that, but Renji-baka lost track of time! I was just going to get him and then we would've come straight home, I swear!" Rukia whined.
"Still, you know that it might be dangerous for you to be out right now! You should've called Kazuki to find him; it's about time that lazy ass did something useful around here anyway," I grumbled.
"Now you sound like Kaori-nee-san," she said before wilting under my stern glare. "I'm sorry, nee-chan. I know you're just worried."
I sighed, my anger folding like a house of cards. "You were just trying to look out for Renji, I guess I can't be too mad at you for that." I looked up to see Reo, the fish-vender, start packing up his stand to go home.
"Reo-san, I hate to be a bother, but I was wondering if you would mind dropping Rukia off at my house on your way back? I need to locate my other wayward kid," I said with a sheepish smile. He grinned at me.
"Sure thing, Sensei! C'mon Rukia-chan, let's get you home," he said kindly.
"Renji's probably by the river, nee-chan," Rukia added.
"Thanks, imouto," I smiled briefly and gave her a quick hug. "See you at home."
I'd only just caught sight of the river before a small figure barreled into me, almost knocking me over.
"Wha—Haruki-kun?" I blinked in surprise, recognizing him to be one of Renji's friends. "You're injured!" I said alarmed, brushing his face lightly with my fingertips. A nasty gash on his forehead was oozing blood into his left eye.
"Sensei!" He cried out, relief visibly diffusing over his features. "Sensei, thank Kami you're here, you gotta come quickly, this creepy dude walked up to Kimi-chan and tried to take her away, so she kicked 'im in the balls only he got mad an' I tried to protect her, I did, only he punched me an'…an' he had a knife and I thought I was gonna be a goner for sure but then Renji showed up and I ran to get help and I'm so happy I ran into you, but I dunno how he's doin'!"
"Hey, hey, slow down, breathe," I said gently, waiting a few seconds for him to calm down. "Now, this is very important. Do you think you can take me to where Renji-kun and Kimi-chan were?"
He nodded, grabbing my hand and tugging me forward. A couple hundred meters ahead, I saw Renji holding his sword and standing in a defensive pose, shielding a young blonde girl with his body protectively. A red haze settled over my vision when I noticed the way he was cradling his left arm gingerly and I took a deep breath, swallowing the burning rage that rose up within me. Keeping a clear mind in fights was essential—fury wouldn't help me now.
One of Renji's opponents, a heavyset man by the name of Honda, was currently talking to him. The other man I didn't recognize…not an Inuzuri resident then.
"Look brat, I really don't want to hurt you too much but I will if I have to. Just let us have the girl and we'll each be on our way. No need for anyone to get hurt," Honda was saying.
"Like hell I will! Don't think I haven't noticed how none of these kids have come back once they've disappeared. I'm not stupid!" Renji yelled. The unknown man next to Honda cursed.
"They're attracting too much attention. I don't see why we can't just grab them both and be done with it. The redheaded brat has more spirit energy anyway." Honda seemed uncomfortable. Smart man.
"I'm afraid I'll have to object," I said, stepping in with an icy smile. "My, my, resorting to kidnapping children now, Honda-san? I'll admit, I thought better of you."
He whirled around, panic flashing over his features. "Sensei!"
"And who are you?" The still-unnamed person asked, before shaking his head. "No matter, it's none of your business. Lady, I'm feeling generous today so I'll give you a warning—head on home before we have to bash that pretty head of yours in. This has nothing to do with you, so if you're smart, you'll scram. Honda, grab the kids and let's go." When Honda still didn't move, he looked over and sneered.
"Fucking fatty, are you really that pathetic? What, scared of a girl a quarter of your size now? Damn, I didn't know they made them that pitiful." With that, he reached out with one hand towards Renji, who stiffened and prepared to raise his sword. His hand never made it that far.
"Ah, my apologies, but I can't let you do that," I said, my smile still glued to my face. He looked down in shock at where one hand was gripping his wrist, preventing his arm from moving. The other held Tatsuya's dagger at his throat. "See, you decided to mess with my family, which makes it my business. And that 'redheaded brat' has been part of my family for over a decade now. A big sister should always protect her younger siblings, don't you agree?" My grip on his wrist tightened. Behind me, Renji's face turned red. "Going after my family…that was your first mistake. Your second mistake," I said quietly, pressing the knife harder against his throat and drawing a thin line of blood, "was underestimating me."
With that, I sent an electric shock up his arm. My reiatsu, converted into electricity using a technique usually reserved for reviving people from the dead, traveled up the neurons in his arm to his spinal cord, before finally reaching his brain. My smile widened into a snarl as I amplified the technique, frying nerve cells and brain matter. He convulsed briefly before going still.
Letting the body fall to the ground, I turned to Honda who seemed to have frozen in shock. His eyes kept glancing between me and his fallen comrade, as if deciding whether attacking me would be worth it.
"Careful, Honda-san," I said softly. My smile showed just a hint of teeth and he took an involuntary step back, eyes wide. "Do you really want to make an enemy out of me?"
He shook his head mutely and my smile turned a touch more genuine. "Then you'll tell me everything you know about the organization that is abducting these kids."
As it turned out, Honda didn't know much. After making sure Haruki and Kimi reached a safe shelter, I'd promptly interrogated Honda to get every scrap of information on what was happening to the disappeared kids. However, he had only joined a week ago, and this had been his second job. The only things I gleaned from him were that the pay was good, his employer was targeting kids with higher than usual spiritual energy, and the headquarters of this group were located somewhere beyond the 74th district. His partner had been in charge of most of the technical details; Honda was just there as a guide. So…I was left basically where I started.
"At least it makes for a good story?" Kaori commented. "And the brats might be more inclined to be cautious after this."
"I don't like this," Mitsuo frowned. "I can't think of any good reason why someone outside of the Shinigami would target children with high reiatsu. It just doesn't make any sense."
"I can't believe that you let that Honda guy go," Kazuki grumbled. "What makes you think he ain't gonna come after you later?" At this, Kaori snorted.
"Kazuki, the idiot's terrified of her now. He just witnessed her kill his partner by electrocuting him for two straight minutes—with minimal effort too."
"I wouldn't say that," I grimaced. It wasn't exactly easy to inject straight up electricity into someone's nervous system for several minutes. Had I been thinking logically, I never would have done it—for one thing, I'd only adapted that technique for combat use once before, during my admittedly reckless stunt with the hollow after my Byakuya-crush-revelation. But I'd just been so angry at the time and he had dared to touch my family-
"Well, at least Renji doesn't seem to have suffered any trauma from witnessing it," Kazuki said dryly, motioning towards where Renji was animatedly retelling the story to Rukia and Miwa.
"I can't believe you weren't there Rukia, it was so cool. Her hand literally crackled with lightning and then he kinda twitched and dropped like a stone!"
"Should I be worried that he's so unbothered by the sight of a painful death?" I murmured. Everyone in Inuzuri became at least somewhat desensitized to violence at some point, but I'd just electrocuted someone to death. Hell, sometimes I worried about my own growing detachment over killing people—at least, people I didn't know.
"It was either you or him, and he knows that. Kill or be killed; one of the first things we taught them," Mitsuo said quietly.
"I still can't believe you had to be rescued by nee-chan," Rukia's voice, containing more than a modicum of disbelief, distracted me. "We've been receiving lessons from Oni-sensei for more than a year, and you still can't take down two freaking goons! I'm ashamed to call you my rival now. That's it, I need to find a new sparring partner."
"Hey! I totally coulda taken them down by myself!" Renji protested, voice full of injured pride. "Hisana-nee-san just took them down before I had a chance to, that's all."
"Shishou's so amazing," Miwa sighed dreamily. I twitched uncomfortably as Mitsuo lifted a hand to his mouth to hide his laughter.
"Yukimura Hisana, our resident badass," Kaori added, smirking. I flushed.
"Oh, shut up all of you," I grumbled, aiming a kick at her halfheartedly. Shock one guy into oblivion and no one ever lets you forget it. Honestly.
~Two Weeks Later~
The sound of someone pounding at the door made me jump. Next to me, Rukia almost tipped her bowl of rice over.
"Seriously, can't they go without you for one day?" Kaori grumbled. "Kami, can't even enjoy dinner around here anymore without someone interrupting."
"It might not be for me," I protested weakly. "Not every visitor is looking for me, you know." Kazuki and Kaori sent me identical unimpressed looks.
"No, but a solid ninety percent of them are," Kazuki said pointedly.
"I'll get it, Shishou," Miwa said, standing up. Meanwhile, I began shoving as much food in my mouth as possible with the speed of someone who had a lot of practice dealing with interrupted meals.
"Don't eat so fast, you'll choke," Mitsuo said chidingly.
"I' engee 'an oo it, s'an I," I mumbled through a mouthful of food.
"I'm sorry, but I don't speak gibberish," Kaori said sarcastically. I glared at her and swallowed with a massive effort.
"I said, if Renji can do it, so can I." Next to Rukia, Renji let out an indignant huff while Rukia snorted.
"That idiot could shove half the contents of our kitchen in his mouth in one go. So undignified," Rukia said haughtily, in a tone of voice I was sure she had learned from Byakuya. Of all the traits she had to pick up from him…
"Shishou, it's for you," Miwa cut in before Renji could retort. "It's Aoki-san. Something about a drug overdose?"
I groaned, resisting the urge to bang my forehead on the table. At least taking drugs by injection hadn't been discovered this far out in the Rukongai yet, but that didn't prevent people from getting high. It seemed like in every civilization, there just had to be that one guy who decided, "This looks like a pretty leaf. Let's try smoking it and see what happens."
"Wonderful. What is it this time? Opium? Diviner's Sage?" I grumbled, already getting up. "Damn it, this is the third time this week."
"I can come with you, Shishou. Keep you company," Miwa offered. I sent her a grateful smile.
"Thank you. That would be appreciated."
"Come back soon!" Rukia said, waving at me. "I'll save some food for you."
I bent down to kiss her forehead, before grabbing my coat as Miwa offered it to me. "Love you, don't stay up too late, and finish your broccoli; don't think I haven't noticed you hiding pieces away in your napkin." Giving a nod to the others, I headed out the door where Aoki was waiting for me.
At first glance—well, the following glances too if I was being honest—he looked awful. There were dark circles under his eyes, his pupils were blown wide open, tremors were wracking his thin frame and there was a light sheen of sweat covering his entire body.
"Aoki-san, are you feeling alright?" I asked concerned. "Do you want to come in for a moment? You don't look so well."
"Ah Sensei, no need. I- I just haven't been able to s-smoke for a while now," he said, avoiding my eyes.
"You know the withdrawal symptoms will only get worse the more you take" I asked him softly. "Opium's a dangerous drug, Aoki-san. One day I won't be able to help you."
He sent me a bitter smile. "Too late fo' me now, Sensei. Besides, even though it's hell on the body, it…it allows me to escape. For a while, it lets me be happy."
"I can't stop you if that's your choice," I said tiredly. "Now, what can I do for you today?"
"Some stupid kid OD'd. Took too much at once, an' was drunk at the time too. He's back at my place," Aoki said. Miwa and I followed him into what was pretty much the poorest part of Inuzuri, which considering it was Inuzuri, was really saying something. The houses were little more than shacks—it was where Rukia and I had lived for a while during our first few months in the afterlife. A couple people were passed out drunk behind street corners; others were sleeping in alleyways, huddled together for warmth. Miwa stepped closer to me, avoiding eye contact with the people on the street. She'd been here with me before once or twice—never alone—but even I still felt uneasy around this part of town. Luckily, Aoki's house wasn't too far away and before long, we'd arrived at his front entrance.
"He's just inside," Aoki said, holding the door open for me. I'd paused before stepping inside, a bit surprised at his uncharacteristic display of chivalry. The next thing I knew, a sharp pain blossomed in the back of my head and I collapsed forward, stunned. Behind me, Miwa screamed.
For a while, I just lay on the ground, absolutely shell-shocked. It took me a few seconds to even register what had happened—I blamed the dizziness that was spreading through my head, fogging my judgement. Gingerly I touched the back of my head with my hand; it came back wet.
"Let me go!" Miwa shrieked. I looked up dazedly to see her being restrained by someone I didn't recognize. Another man was guarding the door, and was the one who'd hit me, judging by the heavy wooden club in his hands. Aside from them, there were another three men—all tall, heavily muscled who moved with a lethal sort of purpose…trained fighters. They didn't possess high reiatsu, but nonetheless…at first glance I'd put them around Mitsuo's level at the very least. Great. This day was just getting better and better, wasn't it?
"This is really her?" One of the men toed my side with his shoe, sounding slightly dubious. "This is the famed 'Angel of Inuzuri?' I don't know guys, she looks pretty young."
"That's her," Aoki confirmed, voice unsteady. Realization was slowly dawning on me, along with the first seeds of betrayal.
"Aoki-san," I said quietly, staring him straight in the eye. "What is the meaning of this?" If my words were slightly slurred, well, I figured I had a good enough excuse.
"Sorry, Miwa-chan, Sensei," Aoki mumbled. He seemed to be shaking slightly and he looked up towards one of the men—the shortest one, about 30 years of age physically, with honey-brown hair, gold eyes and a lithely muscled body—in terror. "You…you weren't suppose' ta hurt her. You said that you wouldn't hurt her!"
"I said that I meant your precious Sensei no harm, and I was telling the truth," he answered smoothly. "The…preemptive strike was just to make her a bit more—how should I put it—cooperative. Unfortunate, but ultimately necessary. Reports show that she can put up a bit of a fight when she wants to, and I wouldn't want anything…tragic to happen. Your concern is touching, but you don't need to worry. I don't want to cause her any harm."
Tell that to the back of my head, you absolute bastard, I thought viciously, trying to get up. Kami, I hated head injuries. It probably wasn't as serious as a concussion, but my head was pounding, I couldn't think straight, and it would likely be a bad idea for me to try and heal myself right now when just staying conscious required every ounce of my concentration.
"Well," the apparent leader of the group continued. "We got what we came here for." He nodded towards the man closest to me, who promptly pulled me up roughly. I closed my eyes, fighting the sudden onslaught of dizziness that rushed through me and struggled to stay upright. "Knock the other girl out—we don't need her. Come on, let's go. The sooner we get out of this godforsaken district, the better."
"Wait," Aoki spoke up, voice quivering, and moved to stand in front of the leader. He held out a hand. "I-I did what you asked. W-We had an a-agreement."
A cruel smirk spread over the leader's face. "Ah, that's right, isn't it? I'd almost forgotten. Two month's supply of opium for leading Yukimura Hisana to us, was it?" Abruptly I felt sick and had to resist the urge to throw up. Sold out for a few drugs? I didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"Well, let no one say that I'm not a man of my word," he said chuckling and took out a medium sized bag from inside his jacket. Aoki took it with the feverish desperation of a drowning man gasping for air. As he scrambled greedily to open the bag, the golden-eyed man motioned subtly to one of his men hiding in the shadows…and somehow I knew what was going to happen before it actually did. I opened my mouth to—I don't know, yell, scream, shout a warning—but before I could, the sword was already sliding through Aoki's torso. He stared at the blade peeking through his chest in surprise and then looked up. For a moment, our eyes met.
Help me, he mouthed, lips already stained with red. Then the sword slid out again and he slumped to the floor, motionless.
"Well, that's that!" The leader said cheerfully, brushing some imaginary dirt off his hands. Behind him, Miwa had gone still, staring at Aoki's body in shock. Her eyes were brimming with tears.
"Was that truly necessary?" I asked, my voice a bit hoarse. It wasn't like I was close to Aoki, and he had betrayed me, but to see him so callously killed…
The leader glanced up at me. "What? Don't tell me you're actually sad," he scoffed. "That scum there was willing to trade you out just so he could go to his happy-place for a couple days. Good riddance, if you ask me. There's enough worthless trash out there as it is. Now, first things first. Are you going to come with us willingly?" He asked.
There was really only one thing I could say to that. "Fuck you," I spat. He smiled. It was not a nice smile.
"Now, I know you're a smart girl, Hisana-chan," he said, reaching over to stroke my cheek. I smacked his hand away. "You can either do this the easy way, or the hard way. You can either nod your pretty head and follow us back to where we need to go, or I can have Hashimoto over there cut your apprentice's throat open and you can watch her bleed out. Then, we can knock you out, dump you in a sack, and carry you back with us. So what's it going to be, huh?"
I swallowed, looking towards where the man restraining Miwa now had a knife placed against her throat. There'd be no way I could save her in time…
"Shishou, don't worry about me. Don't listen to them!" Miwa shouted, before wincing as the knife dug in further against her skin.
"If you're still not convinced, there's still the rest of your family to think about," the leader said mildly. "I understand that you have a sister who likes to run around Inuzuri? I've seen her—she's simply adorable. It would be a terrible shame if anything were to happen to her."
In the end, there was only one choice I could make.
"If I agree to come with you, you let my apprentice go. Unharmed. None of that bullshit you pulled with Aoki," I hissed. "And if you cause any of my family members so much as a scratch, the deal's off."
He smiled. "Of course, Hisana-chan. As long as you cooperate, I wouldn't dream of harming your loved ones."
"Shishou!" Miwa protested, beginning to look panicked now.
"Miwa," my tone left no room for disagreement. "I want you to go straight home. Tell the others that something came up—that I got a job that's going to require me going away from home for a while. And most importantly, tell them not to go looking for me. I don't want any of them, especially Rukia and Renji, looking into this. Tell them..." my voice cracked. "Tell them to trust that I know what I'm doing. I'll be back. I promise."
Miwa still looked hesitant. My voice hardened. "That's an order, Miwa. Go."
The guy restraining her removed his knife from her throat and released her. Before leaving the hut, she turned back and addressed the leader. "Why?" She asked, voice choked. "Why go to all the trouble of doing this? What do you need my Shishou for?"
He cocked his head to the side, and his smile turned patronizing. "The same reason anyone seeks out your Shishou, of course. For her medical expertise."
"Huh. So you really can manipulate your spirit energy to heal people. I wasn't sure I believed it at first," a voice came from behind me. I looked up to see the leader—or Akiyama Daiki, as I'd learned his name was—sit down next to me.
After leaving Inuzuri, we'd traveled through two more districts before settling down in the 75th for the night. After getting a semi-decent night's sleep, I'd finally felt recovered enough to heal what remained of my head injury. We were currently in the 73rd district, taking a short break.
"Glad I exceeded your expectations then. I would hate for you to have gone all the way out to Inuzuri, only to be disappointed," I said sarcastically. He laughed.
"You're a spirited one, aren't you? If I didn't know better, I'd say you weren't afraid of me at all," Akiyama eyed me speculatively. "You don't seem very worried about what will happen to you." I shrugged.
"Honestly? Compared to what I felt when you were threatening Miwa, the apprehension I feel now is nothing." At least for now, I was assured that my family was safe. As long as I had that, I wasn't too worried about myself.
"Still, you're taking this whole thing very well," he observed.
"I wouldn't say I'm taking it well. But I'm not arrogant enough to believe that I can take on the five of you and win. And although I still believe that you are a douchebag of massive proportions, it's not like this is the first time I've had to work with criminals, although this is the first time I've had someone go to such extremes for my help." It wasn't that different from the arrangements I'd had with the yakuza in Inuzuri. Basically, my medical services in exchange for leaving my family alone. Simple.
"You didn't have to blackmail me in exchange for my help, you know," I added. "Most people would've just asked." Akiyama's smile turned a bit darker.
"Ah, but see our boss wanted to ensure your cooperation before we you came back with us. This way, you can't back out. Not to mention, all of Inuzuri seems to be annoyingly protective of you. I didn't want anyone interfering."
"Exactly what do you need my help doing?" I asked apprehensively. He paused, seeming to consider whether or not to answer my question before continuing.
"See, our boss has always been very interested in the effects higher spiritual energy has on the body. It's long been speculated, if not outright confirmed, that those with higher reiatsu levels tend to age slower, heal faster and are more resistant to diseases. He's especially interested in the manifestation of a zanpakuto spirit."
"Zanpakuto?" I asked, feigning ignorance.
"You might know them as the swords Shinigami have, but they have their own characters. From what I understand, they're part of a Shinigami's soul but manifest as separate people…perhaps it's best to think of them as a kind of split personality," he answered. "Recently, he started wondering, what is it exactly that makes some people different than others? Why do some people have high spiritual energy while others have next to none? How does reiatsu affect our physiology? Not every soul with high reiatsu is able to manifest a zanpakuto. What exactly does it take for an ordinary plus to become a Shinigami?" Akiyama's eyes were feverishly bright as he continued his rant.
"Why are the Shinigami the only ones allowed to have zanpakuto? Can you imagine the potential, Hisana-chan? The Shinigami guard their secrets jealously, but if we could only discover the reasons behind why some souls are different for ourselves, then we could possibly alter regular souls to the level of a Shinigami."
"Those kids…" I murmured, realization dawning on me.
"Disappointments," he waved his hand dismissively. "A preliminary experiment and a mistake, trying to get them to manifest zanpakuto spirits before studying Shinigami first. They were all failures." I didn't want to know what happened to the 'failures'.
"Again, I still don't know why I'm needed," I pointed out. "Unless you want to 'study' me too, in which case we're going to have a difference of opinion."
"Of course not," he chuckled. "Although your high reiatsu levels are fascinating, your knowledge is far more useful to me."
"I have no idea why some souls have higher energy than others, or why some people have a greater capacity for growth. And my knowledge on zanpakuto spirits is pretty much nonexistent. I've been studying healing kido for over fifty years now and I still haven't manifested one," I said.
"No, no, not that kind of knowledge. I meant what I said when I told your apprentice I needed you for your medical expertise," he said. "See, after realizing our mistake with studying kids first, we managed to capture a few injured Shinigami after a mission. However, although we did gain some valuable insight into their healing abilities and such, they lasted a…disappointingly short time. Only a couple of days, really, not to mention their reiatsu levels weren't all that high in the first place and none of them had unsealed their zanpakuto. A few days ago however, we got lucky and captured another group of Shinigami when they were injured. It's too troublesome and risky to have to keep replacing specimens so I had to think up a way to make them last longer."
"So you found me," I said a bit numbly. Horrified…didn't even begin to describe what I was feeling.
"Exactly," he said, beaming at me. I took a deep breath, reminded myself that I would almost certainly die if I tried to attack him, and said bluntly, "You're insane."
"Maybe. But there's a thin line between insanity and genius," he shrugged, completely unbothered.
"And you crossed that line a long time ago," I muttered. "But I still don't get it. Why? Sure, your questions are interesting and I'd like to know the answers to them myself…but why go so far to understand? What's so great about having high spirit energy, or a zanpakuto spirit? Not every Shinigami is strong, and it's perfectly possible to be powerful without having large spiritual energy reserves."
"Because everyone has a limit—except maybe the living," he amended. "Those who have small spiritual energy levels can train to increase them and become more powerful. It's even truer for those with large reserves. How far you can improve before you reach that limit depends on your energy levels. However, those who lack any spiritual energy are stuck where they are now. They cannot improve themselves." Akiyama smiled at me. "We all want power, Hisana-chan. I'm just one of the few people willing to take steps to gain it. Other people would have said given up and accepted their fate, but I refuse to accept my current state of being. I refuse to accept that I cannot become something more."
I stared at him for a moment before shaking my head. Despite his words, I doubted that he was telling me everything. It was unlikely that he was simply the power-hungry madman he portrayed himself to be, but…to be honest, I didn't really care to find out his true motives. Whatever his reasons, his actions were unforgivable. Even if he was trying to gain power to bring about world peace, what he had done—was planning to do—was still despicable.
What did that say about me? I wondered. I was only playing along to protect my family, but…here I was, condemning his actions when soon enough, I would be helping him.
"I don't agree with you—in fact I hate what you're doing—but you probably already knew that," I said frankly. He shrugged.
"You don't need to agree with me, so long as you do what you're told," he answered. "Now come on, it's about time to go. We need to be back by nightfall."
"Just one more thing. When were you planning on telling me that you were in charge of this entire thing? Not just the leader of the group charged with finding me, but the entire organization?" I asked conversationally. He froze, before rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.
"You are a smart little thing, aren't you?" He murmured.
"Not really," I shrugged. "You aren't exactly the king of discreteness, you know. The level of detail you went into…it was a pretty big giveaway. Not too hard to figure out."
He chuckled. "Modest too. Very well, you caught me. Akiyama Daiki, head of the Imasaki yakuza, at your service." Akiyama dipped into a theatrical bow.
"You already know who I am," I replied in lieu of an introduction. He pouted.
"I'm hurt, Hisana-chan. Technically, we've never been formally introduced," he said with mock offense.
"Obviously, or else I never would have given you permission to address me so informally," I muttered.
"See, this is why I like you," Akiyama said, laying a hand on my shoulder. "Despite the fact that I'm a clear threat to you, you still don't act afraid of me. I'm not sure if you're brave or just stupid, but either way you're interesting. I wasn't expecting much when I came to Inuzuri but now…I think I'll enjoy working with you. Just follow my orders and we'll get along just fine." With that, he got up to check on his men, leaving me to my thoughts.
Despite our easy banter, or maybe because of it, something about him just rubbed me in the wrong way. It wasn't just because he was a near-psychopath. More like, it was just how well I got along with said psychopath. There was a level of understanding between us that I'd only felt around one person—someone who'd died over fifty years ago.
Akiyama…I didn't like to think about it, but something about him reminded me of Tatsuya. Or to be more precise, Tatsuya's worst parts. Tatsuya had cared about me—about all of us—of that I had no doubt. But the extent to which he was willing to go in order to get what he wanted scared even me sometimes. The complete lack of empathy he felt towards anyone he didn't consider 'his', the way he felt no hesitation over killing and even torturing those who crossed him, the mocking tone he adopted…Tatsuya wasn't the same as Akiyama, but there were enough similarities between the two that it made hating Akiyama very difficult.
Hell, they even both had the same slightly unnerving smile. Not to mention the whole 'I like you' speech with a side order of blackmail. I shook my head. No matter how alike they were, I just had to remember that Akiyama wasn't Tatsuya and I would be fine.
By the time we actually made it to the Imasaki base, I was about 3000 percent done with life, the world, and especially Akiyama's creepy cheerfulness interspersed with snarky comments.
"My feet," I groaned. We were somewhere in the 68th district and my feet felt like they were going to fall off. This was actually the furthest from Inuzuri I'd ever been; before, I'd only been as far as the 74th district.
"Aww, Hisana-chan, are you tired?" Akiyama teased me. I glared at him. "I could carry you if you like." His eyes trailed down my body, lingering over my subtle curves. "Trust me, it would be no burden."
That was yet another thing that annoyed me about Akiyama. About halfway through the 72nd district, Akiyama had apparently decided that flirting with me was great fun. When I finally snapped around two hours later, yelling at him to stop being a pervert, he'd only pouted at me and said, "But it's so much fun! Much more entertaining than hanging around my boring bodyguards. And you're so cute when you get flustered."
I doubted he meant anything serious by it—his leers, while irritating, lacked the hunger I'd sometimes seen in the eyes of men lurking around the red light district when they looked at the prostitutes. So it wasn't like I felt threatened in that way. Still, no one had ever been so blatant about the way they looked at my body before.
"Shut up," I hissed at him. Normally I wouldn't speak so disrespectfully to someone who had essentially blackmailed me—despite what Kazuki and Kaori might think, I did have some self-preservation instincts—but Akiyama had made it clear within the first several hours of meeting him that he didn't mind a bit of attitude. If anything, he seemed entertained by it. "I have just spent the past day and a half walking nonstop, in the company of five testosterone charged men. I am not in the mood to deal with your bullshit, Akiyama-san."
Akiyama held up his hands in mock defense. "Just offering to help, Hisana-chan. No need to get touchy." His smirk widened. "Are you sure you won't accept a foot massage, at least? I've been told my…technique is impeccable."
I made a strangled noise of frustration. A couple feet away, one of Akiyama's guards looked at me in alarm.
"Boss," he said warily. "Perhaps it would be best if you did not antagonize her so much? That shade of red does not look healthy." Akiyama waved him off with a chuckle.
"You—how is it even possible to insert that much innuendo into a sentence?" I asked incredulously. "Just—do the world a favor and stop talking."
"I'll need something—or someone—to occupy my mouth with then. Care to volunteer?" He purred. Somehow, impossibly, my face heated up about another fifteen degrees.
"I will strangle you. Slowly. With my bare hands," I growled.
"Mm, sounds kinky. Normally, I wouldn't be into erotic asphyxiation but with you darling, I'm willing to give it a try."
"Die in a fire."
"Now, now, that's not nice, Hisana-chan. Remember your manners. I would hate to have to punish you for not being a good girl." I stopped, briefly shocked out of my anger.
"Did…did you just," I stuttered, at a momentary loss for words.
"Not into BDSM then? Pity," he sighed wistfully. "Is it the pain that bothers you? It can be such a stimulantand when applied the right way, it can amplify the pleasure wonderfully."
"Akiyama-dono," one of his men cut in hastily, just as I was about to kick him in the nuts. See how much he liked pain then. "It's been a long day. How about I get Yukimura-san settled in her room?"
"Very well then, Morita-san. Make sure to let the men know that none of them are to harm her," Akiyama said, turning serious again. He turned back to me and leaned down, pressing a lightning fast kiss to my lips. "That shade of red is really quite fetching on you," he murmured, stepping away before my brain could catch up to his actions.
"You…you…you absolute ASSHOLE!" I screamed. It wasn't like I was a prude—I had no problems with people engaging in sexual contact (it was hard to be when you were friends with prostitutes; two weeks after turning fifty, Mai had insisted on giving me a few…lessons. It was one of the memories I was still trying to repress). That didn't mean I was okay with my next kiss coming from Akiyama Daiki. I'd hoped that Byaku—nope, not going there. "You jerk! This is sexual harassment!" I wiped my mouth furiously with one hand. "Take it back! I mean it, bastard! I don't want your kiss!" Catching sight of his remaining guards gaping at me, I hissed out, "This never happened. Got it?"
"Understood," the guard that had spoken out before—Morita—answered, mouth twitching. I seethed. "Right this way, Yukimura-san."
"Is he always like that?" I asked sullenly. If I had to spend the next who-knows-how-long dealing with that, I might as well just commit seppuku now.
"Akiyama-dono? Never. Well, it's true that he does enjoy-" Here he hesitated, reluctant to criticize his boss.
"Messing with people? Yeah, I got that impression," I grumbled.
"Well, yes. But it's also true that he normally doesn't do it to the extent he does it with you. Of course, your reactions were rather entertaining-" My glare at that moment could have burned a hole through metal. "But he really does seem to have taken a liking to you." Morita glanced at me. "You'll be introduced to the prisoners and the rest of the household tomorrow, so get a good night's sleep. Akiyama-dono…despite his actions today, he would never touch you seriously without your permission. I cannot say the same for all the men in his employ. Be careful, Yukimura-san. Not all men are as honorable regarding women as he is."
Author's Note: Yes, the scene at the beginning WAS Hisana entering her inner world. And yes, that WAS her zanpakuto speaking. NO, she's not going to find out its name for a while yet; Hitsugaya had been hearing his zanpakuto's voice practically since birth, but didn't actually manifest it until much later.
As for Akiyama being essentially a way more sadistic, less moral version of Tatsuya…I didn't even mean for him to develop that way. This is what happens when I kill off my own characters and miss them later on. The minor AkiHisa is temporary, I swear! *hides under covers and mentally prepares myself for flames*
If any of you thought Hisana eased up too quickly around Akiyama, well, first of all the guy is really good at getting people to relax. He's naturally charismatic like that. Secondly, Hisana's kinda used to these semi-threatening confrontations. Especially in the beginning—what, you think she was automatically accepted by all of Inuzuri? Nah, she had to deal with a lot of similar stuff with gangs in the beginning—basically, 'treat my people or I'll hurt your family' which eventually evolved into 'Leave my family alone or I'll set all of Inuzuri on your ass. But because I'm feeling nice, I'll help you anyway'. Essentially the same thing, but on her terms. Her threshold for things-that-are-fucked-up is a lot higher than a normal person's.
P.S. But seriously, what did you guys think of Akiyama? Soooo sorry for throwing him in there just as it seemed like the ByaHisa ship was finally getting somewhere, but there's a reason for it. Did you hate him? Like him? (Have a feeling you'll be hating him more later on)
P.P.S. Hisana is going to go through so much crap in the following chapters. There's going to be some pretty dark stuff in the next chapter too. Just warning you now.
